Kitimat Mayor Joanne Monaghan angrily rejected on Thursday an accusation that Enbridge Inc. is using a minuscule portion of its vast financial resources to unfairly tip the balance in its favour in a plebiscite next month on the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline. In this file photo: Enbridge print advertisement emphasising jobs in run-up to plebiscite on the pipeline in Kitimat.

OTTAWA — Kitimat Mayor Joanne Monaghan angrily rejected on Thursday an accusation that Enbridge Inc. is using a minuscule portion of its vast financial resources to unfairly tip the balance in its favour in a plebiscite next month on the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline.

The two main opposing forces heading into the April 12 non-binding vote are Enbridge, with $446 million in profits last year on revenues of roughly $33 billion, and the Douglas Channel Watch, a kitchen-table volunteer organization which has recently increased its campaign budget 10-fold — from $200 to a little over $2,000.

The federal MP for the area, New Democrat Nathan Cullen, as well as Kitimat councillor Phil Germuth and the advocacy group Integrity BC criticized the plebiscite process.

Integrity BC spokesman Dermod Travis said Thursday a “no-holds-barred” campaign with no campaign spending limits is anti-democratic and gives Enbridge an unfair edge in the public relations battle.

“A company headquartered in another province is trying to buy a plebiscite,” Travis, whose group advocates for stricter provincial and municipal campaign spending rules, told The Vancouver Sun.

Enbridge, which refused Thursday to make public its budget in the plebiscite campaign, has run radio and full-page newspaper ads in Kitimat urging a Yes vote. The company has also put up “Vote yes for our future” signs around town, and has had employees go door-to-door to encourage support.

She suggested the visual evidence shows that the balance may give a slight edge to the opponents of Enbridge’s proposal to build an oilsands pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat.

“They’re going door to door, Enbridge is going door to door, what’s the big deal?” she said. “I see just as many no signs as yes signs. … In fact the no signs are much more elaborate than the yes signs.”

The plebiscite was the fulfilment of a long-ago promise to consult from an officially neutral council. It was in response to the decision of other northern B.C. councils that have taken positions on the project.

It has no legal affect on the federal government’s decision that is due in June, a point the mayor and former journalist stressed Thursday.

“I know what you guys (the media) are doing, you’re trying to make a huge story out of nothing.”

Travis responded that Enbridge clearly sees potential value in a vote in favour of the pipeline. “Certainly Enbridge seems to be taking it incredibly seriously.”

Travis noted that laws limit spending by third parties in provincial election campaigns to about $3,100 per riding. Enbridge, he said, is clearly spending far more than that in a small part of a provincial riding.

But he said there are no rules governing a plebiscite or referendum in a municipality like Kitimat, which has just 4,100 eligible voters, compared to 21,164 in the Skeena provincial riding that takes in Kitimat.

A spokesman for the Calgary-based pipeline company defended the company’s campaign.

“The District of Kitimat decided to hold this plebiscite and we feel it is our responsibility to provide information people are asking for,” spokesman Ivan Giesbrecht said in a statement.

He said the employees going door-to-door are people who have regularly attended information meetings in the area, and are best-placed to answer questions.

Douglas Channel Watch spokesman Murray Minchin said his group’s signs all come from recycled materials used during the four-year battle by pipeline opponents against Enbridge.

Critics of the plebiscite process who also oppose the pipeline have complained not only about Enbridge’s spending but also about the plebiscite’s wording.

Rather than as a simple “do you support the pipeline or not?” council voted 4-3 in favour of a question citing the mid-December report of the federal panel which conditionally recommended the project go ahead:

“Do you support the final report recommendations of the Joint Review Panel (JRP) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and National Energy Board, that the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project be approved, subject to 209 conditions set out in Volume 2 of the JRP’s final report?”

In January Councillor Rob Goffinet called the question the ‘Quebec referendum but on steroids,” referring to the wordy and deliberately confusing 1995 sovereignty question.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.